Biography

I'm a southern gal, born in the north, but I got here as fast I could :)

That's a saying we have here in Texas, so I thought I'd slip it in for all you Texans. But, for the northerners' ~ I want to add, that I have very warm memories from my childhood of playing in the snow, icing the backyard with the water hose and 'skating' on it, snow ball fights that lasted until we couldn't throw anymore because our arms were too tired, and autumn leaves that rival any sunset or sunrise that I've ever seen :)

My parents returned to the south to be with family and from then on, family played a large role. Home made ice cream was cranked and served in the back yards at night, with fireflies darting like miniscule Tinkerbelle's around us as we tried in vain to capture them. And all the while, the fragrance of gardenias and honeysuckles followed us everywhere, surrounding us with their essence.

It was the memories of these scents and the sultry warmth of southern nights that greatly influenced my initial writings, and still holds sway in much of my work.

I married young, had two sons, both of whom have more than excelled at what they’ve chosen to do in life. The oldest is now a professor with the credential’s Dr. behind his name, and the youngest is completing his masters’ degree. Each of them have gone places education wise that I never have, surpassing me with agility. But, that's as it should be, the next generation moves forward outdistancing us on one level or another :)

It was after they were grown that I began what I call my "real" writing, approximately 10 years ago, in 1998. Prior to that I had dabbled and played, mainly writing down thoughts that I hoped to develop later on.

Later on finally came when I began a premise for an unending story that other writers were encouraged to add to. The story I held in my imagination was much different from the direction each of the participating writers took, but the initial plot always lingered in my mind. Finally, deciding I wanted to write the original concept, I closed the unending story and began research for the novel that I had envisioned.

The research took me to The French Quarter in New Orleans, and eventually to a Bed and Breakfast named The Victoria Inn and Gardens, and then, with their guidance, to a plantation named Laura: A Creole Plantation. All three of these places began to form a thread, each playing a large part in the essence of the story.

The French Quarter became my delight, evoking feelings of a place long forgotten, and finally returned to. The Inn felt like a home away from home and always like the place I should be when I went…so that's where I generally stayed. And when the owner's discovered what I was researching they advised me to visit the previously mentioned plantation. It was there, that I found so many "coincidences" existed between its history and the story I was writing.

That was how I began.

In between, I divorced and as so many others, became lost within the turmoil of that portion of my life ending. But, eventually, I met and later married a "true blue dinky di Aussie", whom I came to love dearly. He flew me off to Oz ( Australia) and treated me to the royal tour of his country. After a few sashays across to visit, we were married on The Gold Coast, in Sanctuary Cove, my most beloved place in Australia. I wed him in a gazebo, surrounded by beautiful jacarandas with the turquoise blue Australian water behind us.

After a couple of years we were transferred to New South Wales. It was there, that I was finally given enough time, by him, to finish my original manuscript. I joined The Romance Writer's of Australia, (even though I wasn't a romance writer.) It was the writing group that met my needs most and to whom I give a huge amount of credit in helping me with all the technical sides of writing.

I sat at the computer for approximately five months, drafting and re-drafting and drafting again, threatening every few weeks or so to go to the porch and strike a match and watch the thing burn.:) I finally finished and within a week of completion, our lives took another turn and we found ourselves on our way back to the states.

In the moment, I've returned to where I started from. I now belong to the Houston chapter of The Final Twist, the local division of Sisters in Crime and am the secretary for the year of 2008. I have a short story; Dark Pleasures that will be released in the fall of 2008 in an anthology entitled A Death in Texas, by L&L Dreamspell. It is the prequel to the larger novel that I am currently working on.

Following this, it is my hope that the publisher's will find my first novel, The Midnight Dance, which is set in 1800 New Orleans, just as enticing as they found Dark Pleasures. They've raised a curious eyebrow and expressed their interest…and as any writer knows, that's like parting the Red Sea :)...so, if fate sees fit to part the sea…you definitely walk through! :)

Warm Southern smiles sent your way,

Loretta

Member of the RWA, Elements of Romance and Kiss of Death